Toy Fund: Struggling mom with ailing son seeks holiday help

A single mother from Cumberland County wants to provide some Christmas joy to her 13-year-old son, but says she needs help.

“My son has an immune disorder,” she wrote in a letter to the Portland Press Herald Toy Fund. “His body doesn’t react to threats until he’s deathly sick. He doesn’t get a common cold. He gets pneumonia and has to be hospitalized.

“Between his medical bills and my student loans, I don’t even make enough to get us our own place. I’m really struggling to keep us above water and any help would be greatly appreciated.

“He struggles enough in life being sick. I really want him to have something under the Christmas tree.”

The Portland Press Herald Toy Fund in the Spirit of Bruce Roberts is using donations from readers to provide toys to thousands of Maine children who might otherwise not receive holiday gifts because of hardships faced by their parents.

The fund – now in its 67th year – is accepting applications for toys from needy families in Cumberland, York, Sagadahoc, Lincoln and Knox counties. Applications can be downloaded at pressheraldtoyfund.org or picked up at the Welcome Center desk on the fifth floor of One City Center in Portland. Call 791-6672 to have one mailed to you.

Donations to help buy the toys can be made on the website or by writing checks to the Portland Press Herald Toy Fund and mailing them to the fund at P.O. Box 7310, Portland, ME 04112.